Thought Leadership Idea Starter: Chase the Sparks
Do you know what sets thought leaders apart? It’s not that they’re smarter than other people. They’re not more intuitive. They’re not even necessarily better at their jobs. But they have trained themselves to do one specific thing: They chase the sparks. What is a spark? Sparks are the little moments, ideas, and questions that […]
What are the Ingredients in Your “Secret Sauce”?
“I don’t want to give away my secret sauce!” I hear this all the time from thought leaders. They want to *hint* at the magic behind their work, but they’re afraid of revealing too much. Spoiler alert: unless you’re sharing your ATM pin or you work with nuclear codes, no one can somehow swoop in […]
Want to Be More Interesting? Get More Specific
If you are fascinated by your work — all the juicy details and new things to learn and exciting developments — then why do other people’s eyes glaze over when you go into Work Talk mode? How can you help people who don’t work with you, or who don’t know much about your field, care […]
“I’m Not an Expert”
“I’m not an expert, so I don’t know if I should be the one talking here.” It’s one of the first nervous arguments I hear from people who want to develop their thought leadership, but they’re not sure if they have permission. Who are they to share their opinions? What do they really know, anyway? […]
Three Ways to Get Ideas Flowing When You’re Feeling Stuck
![target practice [thought leadership is a practice]](https://viewfinderpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/get-unstuck-1024x1024.png)
“I feel stuck. I’m not sure what to say, so I won’t say anything.” Do you know that feeling? So many of the people I work want to develop big, exciting ideas. But the process to get to those ideas can be long and frustrating. Sometimes, even the most prolific thinkers start to feel stuck. […]
How to Get Started as a Thought Leader: Look Inward, Not Outward
Reflect on these simple questions for a minute. What are you working on right now? And what have you been thinking about lately? I’m sure you have answers to those questions. But now, one more question: Who knows about it? Aha. Here’s where most people get quiet. Most of us are missing the […]
The Next Era of Ghostwriting: Reflections from Gathering of the Ghosts 2024
“It’s a good time to be a ghostwriter,” – Dan Gerstein, founder Gotham Ghostwriters, an agency that matches authors with ghostwriters. “We work alone, but we need each other.” – Emily Paulsen, president of ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) Have you ever helped a friend agonize over their response to an important text […]
My Word of the Year: Intention
When I first started thinking about my word of the year for 2024, I kept coming back to the word “attention.” I wanted to be more careful about where I spent my time, what I gave my attention to, and how I allowed my attention to be pulled in different directions. But the more I […]
The Most Common Thought Leadership Questions and Answers
You’ve got burning questions about your thought leadership. I have answers! In 2019, I started working with clients as a thought leadership consultant. While thought leadership has evolved in the past four years, the core questions people ask me about thought leadership have stayed pretty consistent. These are the questions I hear most often from […]
Lessons for Leading Through Uncertainty
As a mom to a 6- and 9-year-old, I usually try to “parent from ahead.” On a typical day, that might mean planning what’s for dinner, making sure we all have clean socks, and anticipating what might be stressing my kids out. It’s the most low-stress and successful way for me to parent. But on […]
